Harrison said he received some pushback when he was still considering a run, but he dismissed his critics and is using his personal story as motivation in his longshot run.

“When you start from nothing and you work and you pour yourself into building yourself up ... you’re not going to have anybody stand in your way and say you can’t do it,” he said.

The state Democratic party chairman has lived and worked in Washington, D.C., for 12 years and said he is taking unpaid leave from his job at The Podesta Group.

Harrison called for a stronger 50-state strategy, which is a nod to former Vermont Gov. and onetime DNC Chairman Howard Dean, who is mounting another bid for DNC chairman.

"We have to go into a 50-state strategy plus," Harrison said. "But we have to ramp that up and make sure that we’ve investing in all our state parties and we’re building the next bench of Democratic talent."